PokerStars Returns Sunday, April 19 with MicroMillions

On Tuesday and then Thursday, leading poker operator PokerStars announced two online tournaments, focusing on players of all budgets. The operator is kicking off the MicroMillions and the Spring Championship of Online Poker 2020 this April with the prize pools offered for each worth $2.6 million and $85 million respectively, PokerStars revealed.

MicroMillions Begins on April 19 with $2.6M in Prize Money

The first event, MicroMillions, is geared towards budget players who will be able to join and play across 100 tournaments for a total of $2.6 million. The event starts tomorrow, Sunday, April 19, and it will be available to all PokerStars players.

MicroMillions will focus on budget players and small buy-ins. Events will be accessible at a range of $3.30 and $5.50 buy-ins, with the Main Event held on the last day of the tournament, April 26, worth $11 to buy into.

The NLHE Sunday Storm Special Main Event will offer $1 million in guaranteed prize purse and add to this amount based on interest and participation. PokerStars revealed the full schedule of the event in an official blog post.

The $2.6 million constitutes a generous payout to poker players with a particularly low-entry level, allowing many rookie players to try their hand at the virtual green felt. PokerStars is expecting an influx of players, after the company registered a 27% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1, 2020.

The growth has been occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic that has forced many countries on lockdown, with markets such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal restricting the movement of people drastically.

Even in Pennsylvania, PokerStars has managed to pull nearly 4,000 concurrent players at the end of March. Globally, the legal online poker market has reached 45,000 concurrent players, GameIntel said in a recent statement.  

Join SCOOP 2020 on April 30 through May 19

The next big milestone for PokerStars will be on April 30, when the Spring Championship of Online Poker 2020 kicks off, offering $85 million in guaranteed prize money across 240 tournaments. The event will focus on a broader range of players.

While there will be many satellite events to use as qualifying tournaments or just buy into some of the cheaper events ($2.20, $22, $11), PokerStars will also run high-stakes games. The event will feature a number of prominent poker players, including:

• Calvin Anderson
• Viktor Blom
• Gianluca Speranza
• Charlie Carrel
• Kahle Burns
• Mustapha Kanit

The SCOOP 2020 Main Event will take place on May 17-19 and it will feature a $5 million guaranteed prize pool for players to try their hand at.

In light of the increasing demand for online poker, the industry seems to be headed for a good Q2, 2020.